Misconceptions About the “Merge”

Ethereum.org posted a list of misconceptions about the upcoming Merge. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Misconception: “The Merge will reduce gas fees.”

False. The Merge is a change of consensus mechanism, not an expansion of network capacity, and will not result in lower gas fees.

Misconception: “Transactions will be noticeably faster after The Merge.”

False. Though some slight changes exist, transaction speed will mostly remain the same on layer 1.

Misconception: “You can withdraw staked ETH once The Merge occurs.”

False. Staking withdrawals are not yet enabled with The Merge. The following Shanghai upgrade will enable staking withdrawals.

Misconception: “Validators will not receive any liquid ETH rewards til the Shanghai upgrade when withdrawals are enabled.”

False. Fee tips/MEV will be credited to a Mainnet account controlled by the validator, available immediately.

Misconception: “When withdrawals are enabled, stakers will all exit at once.”

False. Validator exits are rate limited for security reasons.

Misconception: “Staking APR is expected to triple after The Merge.”

False. More up-to-date estimations predict closer to a 50% increase in APR post-merge, not a 200% increase.

Misconception: “The Merge will result in downtime of the chain.”

False. The Merge upgrade is designed to transition to proof-of-stake with zero downtime.

I know we’re all sick of hearing about it, but I like to see them addressing some fundamental preconceived ideas about what the Merge will entail. You can read more about it here.